Review: Rebecca Shea's "Unbreakable."

@beccasheaauthor

Review: Rebecca Shea's "Unbreakable."

Amazon UK:    http://amzn.to/18ItAux

Amazon.com:   http://amzn.to/16lj2AL

Synopsis:

Jessica Harper is the epitome of perfection. She’s a good daughter, makes excellent grades, and always strays on the safe side of life. The last thing she thought would ever happen was falling in love with her best friend’s brother. But sometimes fate just has a way of bringing two people together.

Wide receiver for the University of Arizona, Gabe Garcia, seems to have it all. When his feelings for Jessica come to surface, Gabe will give up everything to be with her. 

But what happens when a tragedy abruptly changes the course of your life? For Jessica and Gabe, everything they thought they knew about each other will be questioned. Sometimes, there are scars in life that are cut too deep to completely heal. 

Will their love prove to be unbreakable, or will it shatter and prove fate is just another lie?

Review: Surj Harvey

Another pleasant surprise from a "One Click" buy. This book was just heart breakingly beautiful despite the horrific events that completely changed the course of the main characters lives. It was one of those books that started off perfect. Gabe's family (the Garcia's) had looked after Jess since she was a child. Her mother had died when she was very young and with her father throwing himself into work to cope with the loss, the Garcia's became Jess's second family. This family were just lovely. They had taken Jess in and had always treated her as one of their own. She often slept over, showered there and even had her own bed. Ava and Jess were like sisters but Jess and Gabe... well as they grew up, their friendship turned into so much more. The development of their relationship was beautiful. It was young love, it was  innocent and it was exciting:

“I can’t remember a time when I haven’t loved you. You have been a part of my life for 

over fourteen years. When you were younger, it was a different kind of love, but now, 

it’s the kind of love that won’t let me breathe if you’re not with me. 

It’s the kind of love that makes me not want to live if I can’t be with you.” 

The two of them together was just so right and I have to say, the first 40% of this book was most definitely all hearts and flowers:

"I will love you every day for the rest of my life."

"I love that you tell me this every day," I whisper.

"It's because I mean it."

But the more I read on and the happier and more comfortable they got in their relationship, the more my mind wandered. I was in a constant state of anticipation. The synopsis was quite clear that their love would be tested and as the pages turned, I nervously read on. 

I fell in love with Gabe's character almost immediately. He was just the perfect boyfriend. He was kind, caring, supportive and just wanted to protect his girl. Don't get me wrong though, he was a charmer and most definitely had a fun and witty side to him too. He was 100% devoted to Jess and made it clear to her at every opportunity that their love was forever: 

"There is nothing... and I mean nothing, that will come between us. You are mine forever."

When everything fell apart, Gabe made some tough decisions. I know they can't have been easy but I found myself getting so angry with him. I wanted him to fight for Jess, for their relationship but he just seemed so defeated and that frustrated the hell out of me. He did redeem himself though thank god. Courtesy of the chapters told from his POV, I could truly feel the rawness of his emotions and the pain he was going through. Jess was never far from Gabe's thoughts and some of the things he did completely tugged at my heart strings and most definitely had me close to tears. 

So where does Landon Christianson fit into the equation? Well I really don't want to say because I might ruin the story but I got this guy so horribly wrong. Yes I hold my hands up, I just didn't take to him straight away, in fact I really didn't like him at all but that was more to do with where he fit into the bigger picture as opposed to the person he was. Lucky Landon though because my feelings most definitely thawed the more I got to know him and I even had a lump in my throat reading the tale end of the book because this man made one hell of a sacrifice. One I truly didn't expect and at that moment, I think he took a little piece of my heart:

"Never be afraid to feel. It's the only way to really live. If you don't feel, there is no way you 

can love, heal or forgive. You'll never move forward or get past this. You have to forgive, Jess."

So onto Jess. She was so personable, outgoing and even feisty although just like most girls her age, she had her insecurities. Despite this, she embraced life and made the most of the opportunities that came her way. Life was most definitely for living. Unfortunately, at 41%, the rug was pulled from under me and I was left stunned. Horrific events left Jess a shell of her former self:

My worst fears settle in. I'm afraid I've lost the girl  that I've always known; the sweet, 

innocent girl I've fallen in love with. She's emotionally broken; a shell of the Jess I knew. 

She withdrew from everyone that loved her and that included Gabe. It was easier to be numb than to feel. It was heart breaking because Gabe just wanted to be there, to help her through it but she kept pushing him away:

"Nothing will break us, ever. Not this. Do you hear me, Jess? Nothing. We are unbreakable."

Although the decisions she made were difficult ones, I could see why she made them. Jess needed time to heal but she just couldn't do that around the people who loved her. 

"Unbreakable" definitely put me through the emotional wringer. It lured me into such a false sense of security and although I was waiting for something to go wrong, when it did happen, I just didn't expect it. I truly didn't know if Jess and Gabe would get their HEA because I'd heard there was a book # 2 but also because of the secondary characters and the twist during the last 30% of the book. Yes "Unbreakable" can be read as a standalone and the second book in the series will give us Landon's story. I'm so excited for this one. 

"Unbreakable" was beautifully written and perfectly paced with characters I grew so attached to. Would I recommend it? Most definitely. I rated this book 4 Hearts